![\"Malcolm](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/cede280bc1cdcf5d12a1c8335d40b8276279a023.png\")
Malcolm Knox<\/a>Journalist, author and columnist<\/p>\nMay 18, 2026 \u2014 3:29pm<\/p>\n
May 18, 2026 \u2014 3:29pm<\/p>\n
Save<\/p>\n
You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n
Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n With potentially 10 debutants<\/a>, the first Origin match of this year\u2019s series will have a fresh look. Both coaches have also gone for speed and mobility, so at the very least, as a spectacle, it won\u2019t feel same-old, same-old.<\/p>\n Kieran Foran might have done Laurie Daley a favour by getting him to watch Manly games more closely. Haumole Olakau\u2019atu<\/a> is being called the NRL\u2019s outstanding forward this year, but he\u2019s been playing this way for the past three seasons, when Manly\u2019s offensive plan has often boiled down to \u201cGive it to Haumole\u201d.<\/p>\n Tolu Koula was Manly\u2019s best player in 2025, and is in the Stephen Crichton-Herbie Farnworth echelon of star centres in the game. In saying that, playing him out of position on the wing, when wing is becoming such a critical and specialised spot rather than just the guy who hangs out with footballers, is brave.<\/p>\n Daley gets his McGuires crossed<\/p>\n The new Origin eligibility rules are confusing enough without Daley naming \u201cCasey McGuire\u201d in the Blues team.<\/p>\n What, you can now play for Queensland, and retire for 14 years and then be eligible for New South Wales? Fortunately, it was just a brain-fade from Daley, but it doesn\u2019t help those of us who are still confused about Origin eligibility.<\/p>\n Okay, here it is. Nothing has changed, except that it doesn\u2019t matter who a player chooses to represent internationally if he meets the other eligibility rules. So we can stop pretending Victor Radley is a Pom.<\/p>\n He\u2019s Eastern Suburbs. Daley wants \u201cVictor to be Victor\u201d, which could lead to anything of an Eastern Suburbs nature.<\/p>\n As with many of Daley\u2019s selections, it will be rocks or diamonds on the field.<\/p>\n It\u2019ll all come out in the Walsh<\/p>\n In good news for NSW, Reece Walsh is not playing for Queensland<\/a>. In bad news for NSW, Walsh will play in games two and three with a point to prove.<\/p>\n Margins of error<\/p>\n While there was a lot of high-quality football played in the Magic Round matches, most of it was played by one team per game. A good gauge of NRL entertainment value is how soon you can put down the glasses.<\/p>\n At half-time in the Magic Round games, Cronulla led Canterbury 28-6, the Dolphins led Souths 20-0, Manly led the Tigers 24-6, the Warriors led Brisbane 22-0, and Penrith led the Dragons 12-0, while Melbourne-Parramatta and Newcastle-Gold Coast had one-sided second halves with final margins of 26 and 24 points.<\/p>\n The average winning margin for all eight games was 22.5 points, with only the Cowboys and Roosters providing a live (if mistake-riddled) contest.<\/p>\n That was also the only game the pre-match favourites didn\u2019t win.<\/p>\n The referees and rules are usually blamed, but there might be something else going on. The AFL, in recent years, has become increasingly bifurcated with the bottom division drifting off into oblivion, presenting \u201cfree\u201d games for the top.<\/p>\n The NRL\u2019s 2026 season is trending towards the same split. It could be worth looking at psychological preparation, the focus on greater ruthlessness from the high achievers, combining with a tendency among the also-rans to put losses behind them and move on \u2013 sometimes even before the loss has taken place.<\/p>\n From the number of smiling faces among losing players chatting with their rivals post-match in Brisbane, it looks like the \u201cmoving on\u201d side of sports psychology has too healthy a hold.<\/p>\n No Boyd, no worries for Wahs<\/p>\n The Lang Park turf gets a grave-digger\u2019s look about it by Saturday in every Magic Round, and Tanah Boyd\u2019s season was the major fatality. The journeyman has been a star behind the Warriors\u2019 pack. Given the form he was in, Boyd\u2019s disappointment was piercing.<\/p>\n Related Article On the bright side for the Warriors, the question mark over their premiership prospects was always As shown by how easily they crushed the Broncos after losing Boyd, if you have James Fisher-Harris, Jackson Ford, Erin Clark and Leka Halasima up front, with Wayde Egan scheming at dummy-half, maybe you don\u2019t need a halfback at all.<\/p>\n No disrespect to Te Maire Martin, but this could be the year to test Bill Hayden\u2019s summary of the 1983 federal election: with so many other strengths, even a drover\u2019s dog could lead the team to victory.<\/p>\n News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"Haumole](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ca6acace703fe1dba1b6ab0bee323c85924ec10b.jpeg\")
Haumole Olakau\u2019atu was at his destructive best in Manly\u2019s big win over Wests Tigers at Magic Round.Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"Victor](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/47a479a8867567cafc696c7ef8ac8261d5492706.jpeg\")
Victor Radley was selected in the Blues\u2019 extended squad in 2022, but is set to make his first NSW appearance this year.NRL Photos<\/p>\n![\"Did](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779086474_147_91bf3c08cb97cb07b7c8474f9d867199922081610c2a26cc8fddb2606a84f034.gif\")
<\/a><\/p>\n
going to be how long Boyd\u2019s purple patch could last. Now they don\u2019t have to fret about that.<\/p>\n
![\"Malcolm](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1768652713_1_cede280bc1cdcf5d12a1c8335d40b8276279a023.png\")